• by Nina Lentini  @Nina_Lentini, October 15, 2007

Diamond Foods' Diamond and Emerald brands will partner with several national brands for in-store holiday promotions during the top two baking months of the year, November and December.

The Stockton, Calif.-based company will partner with Hershey's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips and Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk for a baking aisle promotion featuring recipe suggestions and coupons. On-pack fold-out booklets on Diamond and Eagle Brand products will feature recipes and coupons as well. Coupons and a fudge recipe will be printed on Hershey packages.

Incremental displays will include special header cards with an image of Diamond Shelled Walnuts and the Hershey's and Eagle Brand products with the message, "Your Holiday Season Just Got a Whole Lot Sweeter!"

Andrew Burke, senior vice president/marketing at Diamond Foods, says such partnering is relevant to both consumers and retailers. "Promotions like this have been successful in the past in boosting our culinary nut sales during key time periods," he said in a release.

Diamond Foods' Emerald brand will again partner with Anheuser-Busch with high-impact displays in key supermarkets nationwide. "Save on a Holiday Classic" display headers will include tear pads of instantly redeemable coupons.

Diamond is the leading brand of culinary nuts in the U.S., with a market share more than four times that of the nearest branded competitor, the company said. Based on IRI Food InfoScan data, Diamond's culinary market share (based on sales) for the 52-week period ended Sept. 9 was 34.8%.

"When Emerald products are paired with complementary products like Budweiser, we create an attractive snack solution and 'one-stop shopping' for consumers," said Burke. According to IRI Food InfoScan data (12 weeks ended Sept. 9), Emerald sales have a growth rate of 36%--more than 16 times that of overall snack nut category growth of 2.2%.

Diamond Foods will also promote its Diamond and Emerald brands with pre-holiday print advertising. A "Great Tastes for the Holidays" FSI with coupons will be distributed with approximately 60 million newspapers in key national markets on Sunday, Nov. 11.